REVIEW: South Park: The Fractured but Whole

Summary: After a few delays the sequel to the insanely amazing South Park: Stick of Truth is finally here. Does it live up to its predecessor or miss the mark?

Concept: Starting off the game follows on right where the Stick Of Truth left off but due to a certain turn of events quickly switches from the dungeons and dragons theme to a super-hero saga (you’ll know it if you’ve seen the episodes). Now without spoiling the story at all, what i will say is that just like the lord of the rings episode vs the super hero episodes of the show, I feel this game is in the same boat in which that LOTR episode was a masterpiece and the superhero saga was just good. The game is a lot longer, taking me 19 hours to complete, but a lot of it feels way too drawn out compared to the Stick of Truth, which is a shame because that game had a perfect flow with some truly hilarious moments. There are still some funny sequences in this but it almost feels tame in comparison which is a real shame, however this does mean it hasn’t been banned or had scenes removed. Still it bums me out though because I guess i just had high expectations. Now don’t get me wrong, you will still laugh, but just don’t go into this expecting to see some truly messed up stuff if you’ve played the unedited version of Stick of Truth.

Stripclub escapades

Graphics: If ever a game felt like it’s cartoon counter part, it’s this right here. The game looks and feels exactly how you would expect and without knowing, an observer could just think you were watching a strange episode of the show. The visuals are so authentic as everything was lovingly hand drawn and it shows. Some nice visual treats like explosions and effects when you pull off super moves are a really nice touch and again, the animation is flawless. The whole town looks exactly how you remember it in the show, but some areas have some nice new touches which I won’t spoil.

Gameplay: The biggest change in The Fractured But Whole is the battle system, going from a typical turn based RPG to a more dynamic strategy RPG, and whilst not as deep as things like X-com or even Mario + Rabbids, it’s still a nice change to the last games formula which could drag on a bit and become repetitive. Picking the right characters for each battle is great because it gives you not only the option to strategise, but incentive to use all of the characters with all of their unique moves. The game ran smoothly 99% of the time during my playthrough with only a touch of slow down. The battles themselves were pretty quick paced which was a nice touch, but the same can’t be said for the over-world where you are constantly backtracking. The locations as well are a lot more limited, I mean one of the highlights of the last game was going to Canada, where as the meat of this game is solely focused on the town itself and doesn’t really delve outside of there. This is one of the biggest missteps in my opinion as the game is longer then the Stick of Truth yet is a lot more confined.

Did someone say 4 asses?

Sound: The voices are all there acted perfectly, not seeming stiff or forced like some voice work can feel. All the sound effects and little banter between characters during battles make them all the more entertaining, especially when you hear all the classic tracks during key moments, like the ‘Let’s fighting love’ song. The only thing lacking is the majority of the time you are going through the kids houses and other locations where there is no music and this is honestly a drag. A thing to dry break the silence is when you enter a house, turn on the TV and you’ll hear classic ads and songs from the show like the ‘Stop touching me Elmo’ ad.

Awesomeness: Is the fact that there is another South Park game reason enough? The amount of effort on Matt Stone and Trey Parker to get this all flowing and working is a feat in itself considering they were still juggling this and the TV show during development. It blows my mind. Now as I said it does feel a bit padded and tame in comparison to the last game, but all in all it is still a great game and one that you will want to keep playing from start to end.

“Can I help you King Douchebag?”

Final Word: Does it raise the bar from the Stick of Truth? In terms of the battle system, it sure does, but in terms of how the story flows it’s a step below, but regardless of that it is still a great time. It might not have the insane shock value that the past game did but there is still plenty to laugh at and a lot more strategy involved. For fans of the show this is a must and even if you’re just a casual watcher you will still find a lot to enjoy.